Texsport Shock-Cord Repair Kit - Replacement Tent Pole Cord for Camping, Hiking & Outdoor Gear - Emergency Repair Solution for Tents, Canopies & Shelters

We recently purchased a Kelty tent from Dicks sporting goods that was delivered with a broken shock cord in one of the poles. We weren't able to get their support to send us just a replacement pole, and the tent was a great deal so we really didn't want to return it and miss out on the deal.This cord is plenty long for even a couple 20 foot+ tent poles. The thickness of the cord is a bit thinner than what originally came with the kelty pole... probably only 2mm thick as opposed to the 3mm thick original cord. However it still worked. If you have a smaller pole for a smaller tent, this will probably be a bit tighter of a git and thus give it some extra longevity. I'm not sure how long this thinner cord will last, but we have extra in case it breaks.Threading it through was really easy. We didn't even use the included threading wire. What I did was slightly melt the end of the cord with a lighter to get it to tighten up a bit, and then wrapped a couple inches of electrical tape around the end to help straighten it out. From there it was super straightforward threading it through the holes. If your tent poles have a smaller opening then the tape might make it too thick, but it could easily be done just by melting the end so it's not fraying and futzing with it for a while until it goes through each hole. We then pulled it tight, knotted it, and tested the tension. For a 20 foot pole we initially strung 21 feet of cord to give us some play, but ended up with approx. 14 feet of stretched cord to achieve the tension we needed. DO NOT PRE CUT THE CORD TO A SHORTER LENGTH THEN THE POLE THOUGH BECAUSE YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO THREAD IT THROUGH WHILE TENSE. The whole restringing process took maybe 30 minutes at most with 2 people.Overall a good quick replacement product that we will definitely always keep on hand in our backpacking and camping equipment. For $5 I have zero complaints.The shock cord in our niece's tent pole broke on our last camping trip, so I fished out the ends of the cord (gravity helped), tied a knot, and she finished setting up her tent. At take-down, we found the shock cord in another had pole failed, as well. Nephew-in-law feared they needed a new tent.Looking for a repair option, I found this Shock Cord Repair Kit. I chose this one because it has 45 feet of cord - enough for multiple poles. We went to Niece & NIL's apartment before the next trip, and together we replaced the cord in both failed poles in less time than it took to knot up the first pole at the campground. The diameter of the replacement shock cord was identical to the original cord in the poles. The task certainly didn't require all of us, but one extra set of hands would be helpful. And, in our case, a football game was on, so...Additional items needed: Pliers were helpful. Scissors or sharp knife essential.Tips:-Take some time at first to loosen the coil of the wire. It does not need to be totally straight; just loosened enough to work with it.-We took the advice of another reviewer, and did not use tape - we just bent one end of the wire to cinch the cord into the wire.-We eliminated waste by not measuring and cutting the cord prior to threading it though the poles. Just let it roll off the card as needed. Cut it & tie it off when threading is complete.-Be careful to keep the pole sections in the proper order after removing the old cord. All pole sections may not be the same. Check each one for connectibility as you thread the replacement cord through.-We did not use the washers supplied. We just knotted the ends in a double or triple knot at each end. Your experience may differ.Viola! Perfectly repaired tent poles in very little time, with very little expense! AND they have enough left over to make repair to at least one more pole if & when it is needed. Nephew-in-law is very pleased.My suggestion is that every camper with shock-corded tent poles keep one of the kits in your tent bag, 'cuz you never know when you might need it. I also found this same product at my local WallyWorld; if it is needed ASAP, you might look there.Bought this to fix a tentpole for my Ozark (Wal-mart brand) tent. Following the instructions, got the first 2 of 8 pole pieces threaded (in 15 mins). But then spent 45 mins on the 3rd piece and it wouldn't go. The tape was getting stuck and the metal pole began to crimp in places (my tentpoles have a small opening - maybe 3mm in diameter and the cord is about 2mm, so it's a tight fight with the wire and tape). After getting frustrated, I tried a new tactic and finished all the remaining pieces in 4 minutes by doing this:Just feed the cord through a bit at a time by hand! If your tentpole is clean inside, the cord will slide through if you feed it in about 1/2" to 3/4" at a time (the width between your thumb and index finger). I couldn't believe how easy this was (and you'll save the pain of gripping the pliers to force through the wire). Holding the tentpole down at an angle will let gravity help too.Last pieces of advice: slide the cord through each piece first (before trying to assemble it) so you can identify which pieces may be tricky due to obstructions in the tentpole. On my tentpole, the end pieces were hard plugged/glued with the old cord, so I used a power drill to tap it out. There was still some debris inside (which you can blow out like a blow gun), and any remaining bits can be shoved out by sending the wire through. Do all these first, so you're not trying to adjust the end pieces after it's all threaded. Finally, keep the slack on the end - you wouldn't want to cut it first then have it snap back inside, wasting your cord.